Monday, January 23, 2012

LA dress shopping tips?

Dear ESB,

My fella and I are currently taking a pre-wedding honeymoon (a funnymoon!), spending 8 months travelling up through Colombia and Central America before we fly home to Australia via LA. Once we get back we have about three weeks before the big day. I would highly recommend it to any bride to be. There is no pre-wedding angst, and you get to live and laugh through all the challenges and adventures that travelling throws at you.

Anyway, I don't have a dress yet, and fashion in Australia is kind of limited, so I was hoping that you could point me in the direction of a few alternative wedding dress shops in LA.

I am not a froofy bridal type. I am hoping to go for a kind of Kate Moss/Bianca Jagger aesthetic (and not spend more than about $800). I'm only going to have about four days for dress shopping, so given the tight schedule, want to collate a hit-list before I arrive. Any tips would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks for your help and eternal good sense.

*****

Just so we're clear, you don't need bridal shops.

You need a list of high-end-ish dept stores/boutiques to SCOUR for a white/white-ish/blush dress you can buy off the rack. You don't have time to mess around with special orders and alterations.

@Maggie - my thoughts exactly! I'd personally highly recommend winning the lottery and flying to the moon. honestly... but if you can afford to be out of work for 8 or 3 months and cover the cost of travelling, good for you. most of us work for a living.

She may also want to check out the more simple gowns (or even an ivory bridesmaid dress) at Jenny Yoo. http://jennyyoo.com/ When I went there last May, Ellen took such great care of my sisters and me. Very easy going/low pressure environment. They'll also serve you champagne which always makes everything more enjoyable.

I would wear something by Lover. Here is a list of stockists in your area, but if you really want to go the LA route, maybe you could set up a fitting with the girls at Stone Cold Fox at their showroom? Just an idea.

Not necessarily alternative but budget: White Magnolia Bridal. It's a consignment store and they have some AMAZING wedding dresses for cheap. I'm talking Vera Wang samples for $1500. You'd definitely be able to get something in the Kate Moss/Bianca Jagger aesthetic in your budget. &it's all samples/pre-owned etc, so you'll be able to buy off the rack.

Ugh, Shareen's was a total bummer for me personally, but you might be able to find something interesting. Just avoid Shareen herself. She told me my body wouldn't work with bias-cut which is what I wanted.

If you have up to $800 to spend, then I totally second the vote for The Way We Wore. They are really nice and have an amazing (but not cheap) selection.

I wanted vintage, but ended up going with a bias-cut (and ROCKED it, thankyouverymuch) Nicole Miller dress. You can try on Nicole Miller here in LA, but then you'd have to order it and wait weeks. Or buy off ebay like I did.

If you're in LA at the right time, try the Vintage Fashion Expo! http://www.vintageexpo.com/

As an Aussie who loves shopping in LA I'd have to agree with the "Aussie fashion is limited" statement. Yes we do have great fashion but access to it is limited. We don't have the big department store like Barney's etc that stock lots of designers which is exactly what you want if you want to shop quickly. In Australia, we have 1-ish designer department store and a tonne of expensive boutiques, buying a dress in 3 weeks would be awful here.

I got my dress at Saks (they had the same dress at Bloomies, but the customer service was better at Saks). You can get alterations done right when you buy the dress, ready within 3 days to a week tops.

Unique Vintage sells wedding dresses and vintage-inspired dresses that are gorgeous, Dolly Couture is also great, Nordstrom online actually has some amazing dresses for not that much. Incidentally, I've devoted an entire Pinterest board to wedding dresses under $500: http://pinterest.com/theroguebride/wedding-dresses-under-500/

Thanks Chicks, will be hitting all the aforementioned department stores - also love that Heidi Merrick.

I'm pretty sure most people who want to take 8 months off to travel can do it. You just have to save like a dog for a couple of years and be prepared to sacrifice: 1) job security.2) any savings that were meant to go towards a home loan.

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